The annual British Comedy Awards have renamed one of their main prizes in honour of the late Ronnie Barker.

The Writer of the Year Award will now be known as the Ronnie Barker Writer of the Year Award after the 76-year-old Two Ronnies star, who died in October.

The award will be presented at the 14 December ceremony in London by Barker's former sidekick Ronnie Corbett.

Organisers said Sir David Jason, who featured alongside Barker in Open All Hours, will host a tribute to the star.

Filmed tributes

Barker's widow Joy said renaming the award was a fitting gesture.

"I know Ronnie would have been delighted," she said.

"Throughout his career he thought writers were so important and were to be encouraged."

David Nobbs, the president of the Writer's Guild of Great Britain and one of the Two Ronnies first writers, will introduce the tribute to Barker, while Sir David will link to a selection of filmed appreciations.

The awards ceremony, to be screened live on ITV1, will be presented by television chat show Jonathan Ross.

Extras, Ricky Gervais' follow-up to The Office, heads the nominees with a record five nominations.